Here's chapter seventeen! Sorry about the wait, but as I said, school will lengthen the wait. As a side note, I wanted to point out that the apprentices have reached their teenage stages. Sorry if this seems at all rushed, but I figure that pokemon are kinda like animals. They pass through their child stages fast and remain teenagers for a while. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon, a jetpack or a hovercar. Maybe someday...

"Hey, Heat!" Ronda called as she approached the lave toad. A small Rhyhorn was following close behind her.

"Hey, Ronny!" he called back with a grin, happy to see his Lairon friend. Then, he spotted the rock rhino and asked "Who's your friend?"

She walked over and smiled. "Heat, this is Fiona. I'm baby-sitting her for a friend of mine and I remembered that Volcan's been complaining about being bored, so I brought her over to meet him. She's been pretty bored lately as well."

Fiona rolled her eyes. "I don't need to be baby-sat! I'm old enough to take care of myself!"

"I hear ya," Volcan said with a chuckle as he walked over. "But you know how parents are, trying to keep you their little baby for as long as they can."

Fiona groaned. "Tell me about it! Why can't they just accept the fact that we're growing up and there's nothing they can do or say to stop us?"

"Parents can be such a pain in the neck," Volan agreed with a small laugh.

"Um, I'm standing right here!" Heatran said in an annoyed and sarcastic voice, earning a look of annoyance from the two younger pokemon before they returned to their conversation.

Ronda shook her head and smiled in amusement. "Ignore them, Heat. Look on the bright side, at least they seem to get along. Now neither can complain about being bored, having no friends and having nothing to do. Besides, I know that you're not trying to keep him from growing up, no matter what he may think."

Heatran smiled back. "Thanks, Ronda." Then, his smile turned into a grin. "So, you want some lava cookies? I picked them up while I was in Lavaridge!"

"Sure!" she replied with a grin that mirrored his before following him to the dining chamber, leaving Volcan and Fiona to their discussion.

-ooo-

"Okay now, Atlas. Just kick your legs and paddle your arms like me," Pearl instructed as she swam through the cool water. She was in her human form. She had short, lavender hair that was spiked up into a small mohawk. She was in the purple, one-piece swim suit that she usually wore beneath her lavender shirt and skirt, which both had mauve markings. She had also removed her lavender shoes and scarf.

Atlas was in human form as well and was standing in the water beside Pearl. His hair was red and styled to look like his pokemon head. He had removed his red and black hoodie and shoes, but was still wearing his gray shirt and his red and black shorts. He nodded and laid down in the water, kicking and paddling in a rapid, slightly panicked manner as he did so.

Pearl held up her arms to try to keep the water from splashing her in the face as she made her way to Atlas. She grabbed his arm and hauled him back to his feet. She put her hands on his shoulders to get him to look at her instead of panicking. "Calm yourself man! Get a grip! Your not gonna drown in three and a half feet of water!" she said, shaking him a little to emphasize her point. She took a deep, relaxing breath. "Calm down and kick slower. Don't act like there's a giant Sharpedo right behind you. Your name is Atlas, not Charlie."

He grinned sheepishly and chuckled slightly at the movie reference. "Sorry about that. I've never really tried to swim before, though I've really wanted to. Dad won't go in it, even as a human."

"Yeah, some ground types are like that. Not you though!" Pearl said with a smile. "Now, give it another try."

Atlas took a deep breath before laying down once again. He kicked and paddled powerfully, but not as frantically as before. He was surprised to find himself actually staying afloat and moving in his target direction. "I'm doing it!" he said excitedly as he moved through the water. "I'm really doing it!"

"Yeah, Atlas! You're swimming!" Pearl cheered as she watched her friend.

After a few minutes, his limbs grew tired and he stood. He walked over and gave the dragon a hug, smiling happily as he did so. "Thanks for teaching me. You're awesome!"

The space dragon smiled back. "Don't mention it dude."

Just then, a portal opened up in the sky. Palkia fell out of it, landing in the water with a large splash that knocked the kids right off of their feet.

"Dad?" Pearl spluttered as she sat up, rubbing the water from her eyes.

"Pearl!" Palkia called, his head snapping up when he heard her voice. He ran over and embraced his daughter. Luckily, she managed to return to her pokemon form just in time to avoid being crushed by the hug. "I found you!"

Pearl walked over to Atlas as her father thanked Groudon for watching her. "Well, I guess I'll see you some other time."

"Hopefully it's sometime soon!" he agreed with a laugh.

-ooo-

Mesprit sat in the warm sand, enjoying the feeling of the Sun's rays heating her fur as she watched Emma, Alexa and Seth play in the water. Manaphy was playing in the water with them and Azelf was off helping Uxie with a cave renovation. She sighed in content as her mind began to wander to other things.

As the being of emotions, she could sence the feelings of others as well as know precisely what her own where. The amount of unsaid affections and unvoiced fears would sometimes make her want to scream. And as much as she wanted to, part of her job was to let things run their own course. To not interfere in any major ways. Which could get very hard at times.

Mesprit was pulled from her thoughts when someone poked her shoulder. She looked over and saw Manaphy sitting in the sand beside her.

"Watcha thinkin' about?" he asked with a warm smile.

Mesprit smiled back. "Just... my job."

"What about it?" the prince of the sea inquired, tilting his head to the side in the same manner as a curious Growlithe would.

She sighed. "Well, I was thinking about how many unsaid emotions I've been sencing from the others recently. And I'm not allowed to interfere much." She sighed again. "It can get a bit annoying at times."

Manaphy felt his body tense a little. 'I wonder if she can sense every emotion. I wonder is she knows every little thing I feel. Jeez, I feel a little exposed now,' he thought as he shifted his body, trying to ease his feelings of discomfort by making his body more comfortable.

Mesprit noticed his tension and raised an eyebrow. 'Why is he suddenly so nervous?' Just then, she picked up several emotions from him that gave her some clues. Nervousness, embarrassment, fear and... affection. 'Should I question him? Maybe it would lift his tension.' "Um, Manaphy? Do you have a secret crush on someone? If so, it's nothing to be embarrassed about!" she said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Manaphy felt his face heat up. He was glad that the kids were too distracted by their game to notice him as his face turned pink. "M...maybe," he stammered, wishing he could dig a hole and climb into it. But he knew Mesprit wouldn't allow that.

Mesprit smiled. He was cute when he was being bashfull. "It's okay, Manny. I'm not sadistic like Registeel. Your secret's safe with me. And you don't have to tell me who it is or anything. I just wanted to let you know that it's nothing to be ashamed of and that I'm here for you!" 'It's true that I'm curious to know who she is, but I'm not gonna make him tell. Whoever she is, she's one lucky girl.'

Manaphy took a deep breath and stared at the sand, his face crimson. "Wh...wh...at would y...you say if I t...told you that sh...she is cool, calm and c...collected in almost e...everything she d...does?" he stammered as he felt his heart beating in his head.

"I'd say that she must be something special," Mesprit said, sighing a bit under her breath. She searched her mind for the answer to her bitter mood while she also paid close attention to what the pokemon at her side was saying.

"Y...yes. She is. And sh...she's known as th...the b...being of... of emotion," he finally managed to spit out as he felt his ambarrassment take the effects of fire on his face. At the same time, it was as if something heavy had been removed from his small shoulders.

Mesprit felt her eyes widen and her own face heat up. At the same moment, she realized why she had felt bitter moments ago and why she now felt unbelievably happy. She smiled and lowered her eyes. "What if I told you that she feels the same way about you?"

His head snapped up and he stared at her in happiness and disbelief. She brought her gaze back up to meet his, her golden eyes assuring that he had heard correctly. And they seemed to be coming closer...

Seth looked up just in time to see his father and Mesprit's lips make contact and felt himself give a small squeal of delight. Alexa and Emma looked to see why he had squealed. Emma's face brightened as she felt a sudden urge to say 'awww' and Alexa's face scrunched up in disgust as she felt a sudden urge to say 'ewww'.

Both sprites gave into their urges, causing Seth to smile in amusement before saying "Let's get back to playing. They deserve some privacy."

They nodded in agreement and dived beneath the water, unnoticed by new couple on the sand.

-ooo-

Rainbow peeked around the house she was hiding behind. She was heading to the burned out tower. She and Zara were supposed to meet there and explore it. But she had to get past the trainers first.

She didn't see anyone, so she began her dash to the tower. Just then, she tripped over a rock and fell forward, right in front of a Bayleef. The grass type called for his trainer, who wasn't all that far away and in doing so, caught the attention of several other trainers as well.

"Crap," the Phoenix groaned as she stood back up and found herself facing the Bayleef, a Flaaffy, a Croconaw, a Pidgeotto and a Raticate.

She opened her mouth and used a small Flamethrower, which struck the Raticate and singed its fur. It countered by using Quick Attack. At the same time, the Croconaw used Water Gun. She screeched in slight pain and aimed a Sacred Fire at the Bayleef, fainting it in one hit. But she still had four opponents to go.

Rainbow used a Wing Attack, followed by a Flamethrower to take out the Raticate. Then a Water Pulse struck her from behind. She collapsed on the ground, hoping that her father would get back soon. She watched as the three remaining pokemon moved in. She closed her eyes and waited for the onslaught of pokeballs and attacks.

She opened them again when she heard a familiar voice yell "Leave her alone!" She gasped when she saw Zarathustra use a Headbutt on the Flaaffy, sending it crashing into the Pidgeotto. The sudden attack caused the electric type to fire an attack, fainting the bird it had it.

"Zara!" she cried excitedly as she struggled back to her feet.

The Charmander ran over to stand by her side. He flashed her a smile and said "In the scales!"

They both used Ember to finish off the Flaaffy, but the Croconaw was a tough opponent. After many attacks, Zara finally fainted him with a Metal Claw.

He turned and gave the fire bird a toothy grin, which she returned. Then, he saw her eyes widen in shock. He looked down and gasped. He was glowing!

When the light cleared, a taller, darker colored version of Zara stood in his place. He had evolved into a Charmeleon!

The two fire types exchanged a look of surprise before grinning.

"Come on! We still have to explore that tower!" the newly evolved Charmeleon said with a chuckle, his voice now a bit deeper before heading to the old and charred structure.

Hope ya liked it! Sorry again for the wait... Please review!